Chryso Antoniadou: Emboldened Women Business Leaders in 2022

Chryso Antoniadou
Associate-copywriter, Bank of Cyprus Group

‘In an era where everything has turned upside down and nothing will be as before, I wish to act for the common good, whatever position I hold, remaining always romantic, believing that amid every crisis lies opportunity’

Tell us about yourself.
“I collaborate with companies, organisations and individuals who love and appreciate fine and meticulous writing. Above all, lies my one true calling – that journalistic ever searching spirit, which keeps me both excited and invigorated, realising even now that past loves are unforgettable.
I am also a communications consultant in the Cyprus Nurses Union. I remain an active citizen who adores playing with words, and struggle, always with a positive attitude no matter what, with Multiple Sclerosis.”

What do you think helped you the most to make a career as a woman?
“I never thought of myself as a career woman. I always worked hard, without keeping an eye on the clock, because I adored my job, and was passionate about truth and transparency. I entered the financial reportage by chance, reaching the highest positions, and left when I felt I needed to cut loose from journalism. For the last 15 years I have supported businesses and helped unlock the potential they possess inside.”

What is the biggest factor that has helped you be successful?
“Success is to turn my passion into a profession, and my profession into love. To live every moment as if it is my last, to save oxygen for the hard days to come, to believe in myself; to study, be open to change, and accept that it is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent, but rather the one most adaptable to change. Success is the desire, persistence, undistracted concentration, and self-discipline; the same conviction I also have today, even at the expense of health.”

What advice would you give to the next generation of female leaders?
“Nowadays, women have all the knowledge, skills, self-confidence, and the means to move forward in their life. The environment fosters growth and development, although I do not believe that we should divide people according to gender, but rather focus on their capabilities, visions and goals, and the diligence to accomplish them. My advice to women of the new generation is that they should not implement limits and barriers cultivating and raising the beliefs for gender-specific role patterns. I urge them to be true and honest, to work with their cards on the table, to be aware that when they want something, to know that – as Paulo Coelho so aptly puts it – all the universe will conspire in helping them to achieve it.”

Do or did you have a woman leader as a mentor or are there specific women who inspired you and why?
“Since childhood, I felt great admiration for women who struggled for social equality, recognition of a woman’s position in society, human rights, and social justice, and for women to have equal educational opportunities with men: Marie Curie, Helen Keller, Coco Chanel, Mother Teresa, Eleni Ahrweiler, and Princess Diana.
I also admire a woman who is struggling with Multiple Sclerosis (MS), actress Selma Blair, who has openly said: ‘I have a wonderful job. I am disabled. I fall sometimes. I drop things. My memory is foggy, and my left side is asking for directions from a broken GPS. But we are doing it. And I laugh, and I do not know exactly what I will do precisely but I will do my best.”’